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After an already busy September, the list of new releases K-dramas from October 2026 promises to be even busier. Kim Ji-won will make her return as a brilliant surgeon in «Doctor X,» while Kim Yoo-jung and Park Jin-young will transport us to the colonial era in «100 Days of Deception.».
Romance fans will also have plenty to enjoy with Kim So-hyun and Choo Young-woo in «Between Steps,» Chae Soo-bin and Kim Young-kwang in the electrifying «Take Charge of My Heart,» and Yim Si-wan and Seol In-ah in «Love in Disguise.» Discover the new K-dramas you won’t want to miss in October 2026, along with where to watch them and when they premiere.
Your Personal Taxi
- Date of first broadcast: Starting October 1 on Netflix
- Casting : Cha Tae-hyun, Lee Yeon-hee, Joo Jong-hyuk, Im Se-mi, Mimi (OH MY GIRL), Lee Jae-in, Hyun Bong-sik, Kim Do-hyun
Adapted from Lee Mose's webtoon, « Your Personal Taxi » will follow a rather unusual taxi driver, played by Cha Tae-hyun. Unlike ordinary drivers, he only accepts regular customers who have booked their ride in advance. As he drives, he listens to his passengers’ stories and plays the songs they request, turning each ride into an intimate experience. With eight episodes centered on different passengers, the drama will blend music, encounters, and life stories.
Between Steps
- Date of first broadcast: Starting October 5 on ENA, also available on Disney+
- Casting : Choo Young-woo, Kim So-hyun, Kim Min-seok, Shim Hye-jin, Seo Jung-yeon, Park Hyuk-kwon
" Between Steps » will tell the story of two young adults forced to completely rethink the path they thought they were on. Park Min-jae (Choo Young-woo) dreamed of becoming a professional swimmer before an illness caused him to lose a leg and led him to pursue a career in robotics. Im Yoo-jin (Kim So-hyun), a brilliant student in fashion and textiles, also finds her plans turned upside down by an unexpected event. Their encounter will gradually help them find a new direction, both in their lives and in their feelings.
KiDnap GAME
- Date of first broadcast: Starting October 6 on Channel A, also available on Viu (not currently available in France).
- Casting : Lee Joon-gi, Kentaro Sakaguchi, Ko Chia Yen, Stanley Yau, Carrie Wong, Joel Torre
International co-production, « KiDnap GAME » begins when a massive kidnapping case erupts simultaneously in seven Asian cities. Seven people find themselves caught up in a mysterious survival game in which each is given a different mission to complete in order to save a loved one. Among them is Han Ki-joo (Lee Joon-gi), a former surgeon whose daughter has been kidnapped, must balance his medical convictions with his instincts as a father, while Japanese detective Niide Toshiro (Sakaguchi Kentaro) also tries to save the person he loves.
Merry Berry Love
- Date of first broadcast: Starting October 7 on Disney+
- Casting : Ji Chang-wook, Mio Imada, Nam Yoon Su
A Korean-Japanese co-production, « Merry Berry Love »Lee Yu-bin will follow (Ji Chang-wook), a talented Korean interior designer who sees everything he has built disappear overnight. Seeking a fresh start, he moves to a Japanese island, where he meets Karin Shirahama (Imada Mio), a young farmer passionate about growing strawberries. Amid cultural differences, personal healing, and budding feelings, their unexpected encounter might just give them both a fresh start.
Doctor X
- Date of first broadcast: Starting October 9 on SBS, also available on Netflix
- Casting : Kim Ji-won, Lee Jung-eun, Son Hyun-joo, Kim Woo-seok, Lee Jin-hee, Kim Young-min, Lee Sung-wook
In « Doctor X », Kim Ji-won will play Gye Su-jeong, a brilliant surgeon with a mysterious past who joins the surgery department at Guseo University Hospital as a temporary physician. Remarkably skilled in the operating room, she has no interest in hierarchies or power struggles and prefers to let her skills speak for themselves. Her arrival will quickly bring her face-to-face with the darkest corners of a corrupt medical system, in a drama that blends medicine and thriller elements.
Take Charge of My Heart
- Date of first broadcast: Available in its entirety on October 9 on Netflix
- Casting : Kim Young-kwang, Chae Soo-bin, Cha Woo-min, Jung Jae-kwang, Shin Do-hyun, Hyeon Seo-ri
" Take Charge of My Heart » («Recharge My Heart» in French) will bring together Kim Young-kwang and Chae Soo-bin in a particularly electrifying romance. Baek Ho-rang (Kim Young-kwang), heir to a powerful chaebol and manager of a resort, is hiding an artificial heart whose battery is beginning to run low. Na Bo-bae (Chae Soo-bin), a screenwriter suffering from writer's block, has lived with electricity coursing through her body ever since she was struck by lightning as a child. She soon discovers that she is able to recharge Ho-rang’s heart, while he seems to be the only man she can touch without danger.
100 Days of Deception
- Date of first broadcast: Starting October 10 on tvN, also available on Netflix
- Casting : Kim Yoo-jung, Park Jin-young, Kim Hyun-joo, Jin Sun-kyu, Lee Moo-saeng, Han Si-a
Set during the period of Japanese colonization of Korea, « 100 Days of Deception »will be followed by Lee Ga-gyeong (Kim Yoo-jung), considered the best pickpocket in Gyeongseong. Recruited as a spy by the independence movement, she is tasked with infiltrating the Japanese General Government by posing as an apprentice interpreter. There, she meets Kim Tae-woong (Park Jin-young), also known by his Japanese name, Sato Hideo, a newcomer who is, above all, the adopted son of one of the most powerful officials in the colonial administration.
Make Me Tingle
- Date of first broadcast: Starting October 15 on TVING; also available on HBO Max and Viki
- Casting : Nam Ji-hyun, Kim Jae-young, Park So-jin, Bae Yoon-gyu, Kang Tae-ju, Byeon Chang-yeol
" Make Me Tingle »will be followed by Gong Yeon-su (Nam Ji-hyun), a young woman raised in a particularly traditional family who has set very strict rules for herself regarding romantic relationships. Although she believes deeply in love, she has never really managed to understand what it means to her. Her certainties are suddenly shattered when an unexpected encounter with Dokgo Dal, played by Kim Jae-young, takes her into a world that is the complete opposite of everything she knows: that of a company specializing in adult products.
Love in Disguise
- Date of first broadcast: Starting October 19 on tvN, also available on Prime Video
- Casting : Yim Si-wan, Seol In-ah, Kim Jung-hyun, Yeonwoo, Kim In-kwon, Hong Eun-hee
Adapted from a webtoon and a web novel, « Love in Disguise »will combine investigation, undercover work, and romance centered on Yoon Yi-jun (Yim Si-wan), heir to the powerful Taegang Group, who becomes a suspect in a murder case. To uncover the truth, Kang Jae-hee (Seol In-ah), a former special forces operative turned detective, will take her investigation to extreme lengths: she’ll disguise herself as a man to become Yi-jun’s personal secretary and keep a close eye on him day in and day out. This closeness will obviously complicate matters when her feelings begin to interfere with the investigation.
Final Table
- Date of first broadcast: Starting October 24 on JTBC, also available on Prime Video
- Casting : Ahn Hyo-seop, Hong Hwa-yeon, Chang Ryul, Jung Yoo-jin
" Final Table » will take us right into the heart of «The Table: K Chef 2026,» a competition bringing together some of the best Korean chefs from around the world to determine who is the best among them. Ahn Hyo-seop will play Kang Han, a chef living abroad who, following an unexpected event, decides to enter the competition representing the restaurant Familia. Among his competitors will be Cha Woo-jin (Chang Ryul), a perfectionist prodigy determined to win. Blending culinary competition, romance, and personal struggles, the drama will adopt a hybrid format designed to give viewers the feeling that they’re watching both a TV series and a real-life culinary survival show.
The Perfect Lie
- Date of first broadcast: Starting October 30 on MBC, also available on Disney+
- Casting : Seo Hyun-jin, Yoo Yeon-seok
Seo Hyun-jin and Yoo Yeon-seok will reunite ten years after «Dr. Romantic» in « The Perfect Lie », a psychological thriller built around two completely opposing versions of the same memory. A man and a woman find themselves at odds in their quest for the truth, each convinced that their own version of events is the correct one. At the helm is Jo Young-min, director of «You and Everything Else,» in a showdown that is set to gradually blur the line between truth, memory, and lies.
More dramas will surely be added over the coming weeks, since, in my experience, some are announced at the last minute! Which ones are on your watchlist?
